Russ Stands Tall Again

As the Inquirer reported this morning, Arlen Specter is whining because his bill that attempts to legitimizing Dubya’s warrantless spying is being thwarted by Russ Feingold (note Arlen’s pique here):

"We have seen the incipient stage of filibuster by amendment," Specter declared as he called off a vote to move his bill to the Senate floor. "Filibuster by speech, filibuster by amendment. Obstructionism."

I’m not sure how a man who once wondered “where is the outrage” about warrantless spying could suddenly acquiesce and actually oppose someone who tries to stop this illegal tactic and ensure proper oversight.

Update: This is what Russ said according to the story (sorry I neglected to add this to the original post):

"The president has basically said: I'll agree to let a court decide if I'm breaking the law if you pass a law first that says I'm not breaking the law," Feingold said. "That won't help reestablish a healthy respect for separation of powers. It will only make matters worse."

Also, I wondered about this borderline editorial comment in the news report:

The need for Congress to give legal status to the program gained a sense of urgency last month when a federal judge in Detroit ruled that it violated rights to free speech and privacy as well as constitutional separation of powers.

The need for Congress to give legal status to the program is an interesting way to put it. How about “the need to make sure that the program complies with the law” instead?

Also…

Specter's bill was negotiated with the administration (of course). It would submit the program to a special court for a one-time constitutional review, expand the time for emergency warrants from three to seven days, and require the attorney general to inform Congress' intelligence committees on the program's activities every six months.

Define “special court” for me. Who would be responsible for oversight? Is this another tribunal that Dubya wants that would be completely invisible to us (and illegal anyway)?

Let’s give kudos to Russ and tell him to keep fighting the good fight (and Glenn Greenwald provides the last word on FISA here).